Fire Crews Prepare For Another Day Of Strong Winds, Fire Danger
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Fires and heavy winds are raging across California in Vallejo, Sonoma County, and right here in Sacramento.
A grass fire on Interstate 5 near Arena Boulevard shut down the freeway as crews battled the flames on Sunday afternoon. Sacramento Fire told CBS13 that the fire started at a nearby Hilton Garden Inn before jumping over to the freeway.
"It's like really close to us. It's really close, and the wind is very strong. So we gotta get moving and really fast," a woman named Antonia told CBS13.
Crews were able to contain the flames and let cars fly down the freeway again. The California Highway Patrol said that the closures lasted five hours.
There's another round of wind expected to roll into the area on Tuesday, according to California Office of Emergency Services.
Captain Adam Huckaby of Sacramento Metro Fire said these wind conditions can make a situation go from bad to worse at a moment's notice.
"Definitely makes you hyper-aware things can go awry quicker than they normally would," Huckaby said.
The winds make Huckaby and his crews pre-plan how to handle the call to action and adjust to the windy conditions to help improve fire fighting tactics.
"Parking our vehicles on an upwind side trying to influence, using the wind to our advantage during tactical operations," Huckaby said.
Some people said that the wind and fire dangers will be on their minds when they close their eyes on Sunday night.
"Right now the situation is pretty severe in the Sacramento region," Mayur Patel said. "Hopefully we are due for some rain."
Huckaby also told CBS13 that on red flag warning days their station cancels drills that are set for newer employees, that way the crew can ensure that they are ready to go whenever a call comes into the station.